Read All That He Desires (The Billionaire's Seduction Part 2) for Free Online Page B

crap.
    That was something I would say about sleeping with him… not something I would expect him to say about sleeping with me.
    The butterflies were twirling up a storm in my stomach, but I kept to the plan.
    “You don’t work for LMGK, do you?”
    LMGK was an international consulting firm with worldwide branches – and whom Connor had claimed he worked for. They were supposedly interested in buying out the much smaller company I worked for, Exerton Consulting.
    “No, I don’t.”
    My insides twisted. Though I felt like I had known all along – I mean, what VP has a private Bentley limo, a bodyguard, and rents penthouse suites at a moment’s notice in the most expensive and exclusive hotel in LA? – hearing the answer felt like a punch to the stomach.
    “Then everything you said was a lie?!” I cried out.
    Not only did I feel like a fool, but I was starting to panic. I had just let some complete stranger rifle through confidential company files, never bothering to check out his story.
    I might not just lose my job; I might be facing a lawsuit. Or criminal charges. Or both.
    He started laughing, which infuriated me. I got up out of my seat.
    “Hey – hey,” he said, catching my arm and stopping me. “I wasn’t lying to you, ‘Lily Ross’ – I was using a cover story to get past the gatekeepers, that’s all. Some security guard and secretary I’d never met. It wasn’t personal.”
    It sure felt personal. And there was another, bigger problem.
    “But – but I let you look at stuff you shouldn’t have seen!” I cried out in anguish.
    “You’re forgetting that the CEO of your company gave me permission over the phone,” he said in a soothing voice. “You heard him. And your boss, when given the choice of doing it himself or pawning it off on you, decided to go get drunk instead.”
    Oh yeah… I’d forgotten about that…
    I’d heard David Westerholtz, the CEO of Everton Consulting, give Connor carte blanche on looking at internal company files. I was completely off the hook for anything that happened.
    Theoretically.
    “But… you lied to Westerholtz!” I cried out.
    “I think this qualifies as more than one question.”
    I shot him a few daggers with my eyes.
    “Okay, okay,” he laughed. “Just sit down.”
    I lowered back into my chair, my knees trembling.
    “I’m actually one of the primary stockholders of LMGK. I also own a small stake in Exerton. Anything beyond that, you’re going to have to infer, since it would violate that whole ‘non-disclosure’ and business deal clause I gave you earlier.”
    My eyes grew wide – but it made a whole lot more sense. If he owned a ton of stock in LMGK, that meant he was pretty damn rich. And Bentleys and bodyguards and penthouses made a lot more sense for a pretty damn rich guy than for a VP of a company.
    “So you’re involved in the possible acquisition of Exerton – ” I began.
    “Ah,” he cautioned, holding up a hand. “Infer it inside your head . Not only can I not talk about it, but it’s boring, and I’m in the middle of playing strip poker with a beautiful woman.”
    Beautiful woman.
    My heart thumped again, and I blushed slightly.
    “I know why I’m losing, though,” he said as he shuffled the cards. “There’s no room to bluff.”
    “What?”
    “Bluffing. I’m good at it. In business and in life, I’m good at taking a crap hand and making other people think it’s outstanding.”
    Insanely good looks, rich, probably from a moneyed family… well-endowed…
    I blushed a little thinking about it.
    …I think you got dealt a pretty GOOD hand in life, Mr. Connor Brooks.
    “I can’t bluff with the way the game’s set up,” he continued. “It’s a straight ‘best hand wins’ scenario.”
    “You made up the rules,” I retorted.
    “Well, how about this: before we reveal our cards, we have to decide whether to stay in or fold. If you fold, you automatically lose, but only one piece of clothing…”
    “…or one